The Washington Post gives some space to the opening of local lawyer Craig Appelbaum’s Industry Gallery. Inspired by Appelbaum’s desire to break away from the conservative aesthetic constraints of his Midwest upbringing, Industry aspires to bring 21st Century style to DC:
Appelbaum, 39, grew up in Cleveland in a traditional home — complete with a grandfather clock, a wood dining-room table and a bedroom shag rug. He earned his law degree at University of Pennsylvania, worked seven years as a tax lawyer, and now works at Mayer Brown in the District. Built like a speed runner, with a direct exuberance, he explains how he wanted to shake the decorating restrictions he’d grown up with but felt stymied by Washington’s conservative style.
“I found myself having to leave Washington to go to New York and Miami,” he says. His first purchase for his loft in Arlington was a wicker chair by industrial designer Marc Newson that he found on eBay.
Now that he’s opening a gallery, he is traveling to London, Paris, Rome, Los Angeles and Eindhoven, the technology capital of the Netherlands, to discover what’s new, purchase pieces to sell and publicize his space.
When a few artists and restaurateurs started moving onto Florida Avenue and H Street, he decided to join Leigh Conner, who owns the building and has a contemporary gallery on the first level. He rents his space from Conner and is the sole investor in Industry Gallery.
Industry Gallery, a new space for 21st-century art, opens in NE Washington (Washington Post)
